


Six Scenes of An Unexpected Life

by Velocity_Owl87



Series: Qui Gon's Parallel Life [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Anakin Skywalker Doesn't Turn to the Dark Side, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Battlefield, Character Study, Coming of Age, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Genderswap, Introspection, Knight Anakin Skywalker, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Mother-Daughter Relationship, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, References to the Jedi Council, Sith Shenanigans, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-21 01:21:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11933358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Velocity_Owl87/pseuds/Velocity_Owl87
Summary: Qui Gon had left the order after two incidents-Her refusal to give up her attachment to Obi Wan Kenobi, and her inability to take care of a daughter forced upon her by Darth Tyranus. They left behind not only her daughter, known as Pan, but also Anakin Skywalker, a corrupt Republic decaying from within and an inflexible Council.It is in these conditions that Pan comes of age and forges her own path amongst the minefield that is the crumbling Republic, the Separatist issues, Clone Wars and Sith manipulations.





	Six Scenes of An Unexpected Life

**Author's Note:**

> This is a direct sequel to "I'm Running and I'm breathless, but I have to go on, cause I'm running to you." So there are some parts that may be confusing if that one hasn't been read. This story wasn't one I was planning to write just yet, but I had been asked about certain issues that were left unresolved in the first story and coupled with some hard RL conversations, I ended up writing nearly 5,600 words in two nights. So here it is. 
> 
> Proofed, but if mistakes occur, they will be fixed. This is massively AU and playing with timelines here and there as a fix it usually does.

_ One _

_ “We don’t have that much time left. The ship is leaving in two hours.” _

Qui Gon stifled the sigh at the words, knowing them to be true. They had to go. She had been aware of that as she had asked for a few moments with her daughter. She only wanted to say goodbye to the child that she simply couldn’t take with her and Obi Wan. A child whose existence she was still deeply conflicted about. 

_ “Give me a few minutes more. Please.” _

She could feel Obi Wan’s surprise at the quiet plea through their bond. Just like she could feel him relent and pull away to give her a bit more privacy. 

Qui Gon looked down at the baby girl, noting the dark eyes that could go brown like her father’s, or navy blue like hers. The face was one she remembered from childhood and Qui Gon knew what lines it would follow and she was relieved it wasn’t going to be Tyranus that her daughter would resemble. She didn’t think she’d be able to look past that. 

She hadn’t seen anything pertaining her daughter and if Obi Wan himself had, he hadn’t shared it with her yet. She understood why he’d be reticent to and she found herself both resentful and grateful that he’d hold back anything he’d seen. She didn’t think she’d be quite stable enough to find out if she’d be facing her own daughter across a battlefield.

She wasn’t that unaware that was probably the path that they would be heading towards, if Sith were present. She hadn’t been that naive or that blind to the faults of the Council and the Republic in years of service towards them. Especially not when she had suffered at the hands of the monster that her Master had become. 

Her daughter stirred restlessly and turned her head towards Qui Gon’s breasts, seeking nourishment from her mother. Qui Gon felt her face heat up and she was embarrassed when her tunic became damp. 

Without giving it much thought, she pulled her tunic open and loosened the strips of linen she was using to bind herself. Once she was free, she positioned the baby and fed her until she was sleepy and Qui Gon’s breasts weren’t full any longer. She hummed the baby to sleep after burping her. Once the tasks were done, she went to look for the Creche Master, who was in the nursery, waiting for Qui Gon and the baby. 

“Does she have a name?”

Qui Gon paused in handing the child over. She hadn’t thought of naming her, thinking that the Creche master would do the honours. She said as much and the creche master shook her head. 

“It’s the last thing that they would have of their parents and culture. We wouldn’t dare presume to name the younglings. So what will the child’s name be?”

Qui Gon looked down at the baby again and sighed. 

What kind of a name could she give to an unwanted child? One that was born out of trauma and assault? One that she knew she couldn’t care for the way that a child should be cared for? 

Obi Wan hadn’t questioned her decision to leave the child to the creche the moment that she had proven to be Force sensitive. Despite knowing that he liked children and would have loved to build a life with her and the child...It wasn’t what Qui Gon herself could do. Even if they did decide to have other children. Even if they were away from Serannos or Geonosis, she’d never be able to look at the girl and not shudder. 

The child was innocent and didn’t deserve to have that burden placed on her. She had a right to live life on her own terms and not have that burden hanging over her head. Nor did she deserve to have a mother that struggled to love her and take care of her like she needed. She’d rather destroy herself rather than put a child through that. 

“Pantxike Dochas Jinn.”

Qui Gon replied, handing the baby over to the Creche Master. 

“Why three names? And why not her father’s name?”

Qui Gon’s mouth twisted into barely a smile that ended up in a grimace instead. 

“She can use Dochas until she has enough strength to be a Jinn. Her father has fallen and Force knows that’s too heavy of a burden to put on a child. She at least deserves the freedom to grow as her own person rather than the shadow of her parents or the circumstances of her birth.”

She looked at the child again.

“Goodbye, Pantxike. May you be safe.”

She murmured, handing her over and telling herself that it was the right thing and she shouldn’t be sad. 

She knew she had failed when Obi Wan curled up around her once the shuttle left Coruscant. 

_ Two _

“Master Skywalker?”

Anakin looked up from the droid that he had been tinkering with and smiled briefly when he saw it was Pan that was standing at the doorway of his room and workshop. It wasn’t quite what a Master should be doing, but he hadn’t ever lost the affinity and the joy that mechanics brought him. 

“Yes, Pan?”

She wrinkled her nose at the shortening of her name, but said nothing. Especially not when she herself had only barely mastered the difficult pronunciation of it when she was a youngling. Both of them had mutually agreed that shortening was the best course of action once Anakin had chosen her as an apprentice and the agreement had stuck. It didn’t mean she liked it much.

“I was told to give you this and to come to Dex’s at nine this evening.”

She produced a datachip from her sash and handed it to him with a light touch. He frowned at the datachip and the instructions to go to Dex’s. Sure, he liked going to the greasyspoon, but it wasn’t a place that he frequented regularly. Especially now that the separatists were making noises and war was certainly looming on the horizon.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at the innocuous looking datachip. Maybe that was why there was so much secrecy. War was already on the horizon and he needed to get ready to fulfill whatever mission that the Council would give him.

It would explain why the Council would have gone in a roundabout way to get him the information. After all, Tyranus was still out there and the Council had started to change their stance on the whole in regards to the Sith, the circumnavigation started to look like something that they would do. But why send Pan if that was the case for them? It didn’t make sense to Anakin until he picked it up and felt the residual force signature from it. 

“Pan, who gave you this?”

Pan shrugged her thin shoulders. She may have been willowy and fragile looking, but looks were deceptive. She was strong and wily and had a shrewd, calculating intelligence that made Anakin wary when it appeared. It was a good thing that she seldom saw a need to use it and tended to be more impulsive and more concerned with the now rather than the future. 

It was a trait that he cultivated and gave thanks everyday for, since he had already started to get hints about the future and what it held if she were to grow unchecked. Those he could handle with the advice of her mother and Obi Wan. The others that featured her giving him bedroom eyes and hidden meetings in quiet corners...Those he had to have a bit more help with. Usually with Master Tachi and Master Unduli doing the heavy lifting with them.

And despite that, he was still no closer to coming up with a decision in regards to Pan. 

So he treated her like a little sister and tried to focus on other things, like missions and droids and Padme Amidala.

“He said his name was Ben, that was all. He was alone and I hadn’t seen him before, but I swear he felt familiar. I didn’t manage to catch anything else. He disappeared right after he gave the chip to me.”

Anakin felt a pang of surprise at that, but smoothed it over. He didn’t want Pan to know about his dealings with Ben and Jynne Kenobi. Not yet. Despite the Council turning a blind eye to it, the girl was too young yet. 

He loved her as much as he had the moment he had set eyes on her those fourteen years ago, but had no illusions that she wasn’t ready to have that knowledge yet. Not when her father’s name and actions showed up on the holonews with alarming frequency. Not when she was starting to look more and more like her mother, even down to those fathomless dark eyes of hers. 

Not when there was that prophecy hanging over both of their heads and certainly not when she was growing up and starting to enter that phase of infatuation that most padawans went through. She wasn’t there yet, but he could see signs of it and needed to prepare her to go through it as smoothly as possible. 

He had been a child when she had been born and it wasn’t until later that the full implications of her conception sunk in. As much as he cared for her and as much as he knew that there were odd instances of a master and apprentice giving into that infatuation...There was no way that he’d encourage it between them. 

He was not a Sith. He was not her father and he’d not betray Jynne that way. 

“Right. I’ll look at it later. You need to practice your forms. Soretsu is fine, but you need another form if you are going to survive.”

Pan made a face, but didn’t balk as Anakin ushered her out of his workshop, the chip safely tucked into his belt as they went to the training halls.

Although she did need work on her form, he had to admit that he needed the moving meditation that the training would provide. 

Ben and Jynne on Coruscant was a serious matter. He needed a clear head before he dealt with them. Especially now that Pan was older and questions had started to be asked. 

_ Three _

If he hadn’t been in so much pain from the broken bones and barely healed slashes across his face, Obi Wan would have relished the look of dumbstruck surprise on Darth Tyranus’ face when he came face to face with Pan shielding a bound and unconscious Qui Gon, her green lightsaber held in front of her and her dark blue eyes focused on him as she protected the helpless former Jedi. 

Obi Wan huffed a laugh as he watched Pan hold him at bay, not letting him anywhere near her or Qui Gon. Obi Wan himself had filled her in on Tyranus’ preferred style as they had come to Geonosis to rescue Anakin and Qui Gon. 

In his case, returning to rescue his wife, who had been abducted from his side by Tyranus while he focused all of his energy on finishing Darth Maul, the thorn in his side all those years. He wasn’t a Jedi anymore and he had to admit that it felt good to finally destroy one of the author’s of Qui Gon’s misery and the cause of so many of her mental and emotional scars. Scars that had healed as much as they would in the years since their meeting, but were still present nonetheless.

He had been the one to go, since Tyranus would surely kill him. As much as it had galled him to leave Qui Gon behind, he knew it was necessary. Tyranus wouldn’t ever harm her. Would probably want to sway her towards his cause and his Master, Darth Sidious. She wouldn’t, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying. 

He had been hurting, but that was a small inconvenience when it came to getting all of Tyranus’ files and finally getting the support they would need to finally neutralise Darth Sidious and stop the decay of the Republic.

“Keep distance between you both. His preferred form is great for close duels. Do not let him get near you. Trust me on this.”

He had been rueful about his advice, but he knew from bitter experience what he was talking about. The barely healed lightsaber slashes that bisected his left eye and bridge of his nose had been a bitter reminder of how dangerous Tyranus was. That and his failure to keep Qui Gon safe as Tyranus knocked her out and took her as bait to lure Anakin and Pan out while the Separatists fought to create chaos. 

Pan had listened and was now forcing Tyranus to come up with a different strategy than what he was used to by not letting him get close to her. 

She had a strong feeling that if she got anywhere close to him, she’d be hurt badly and end up his captive, just like Jynne Kenobi was at that point. She had no illusions as to what Tyranus stood for and what he’d do to her and Jynne Kenobi and she’d rather die than be anywhere near that corrupt piece of Banta filth. 

So she waited, her lightsaber held up high as she watched him through hooded blue eyes. 

Tyranus himself watched her in turn, trying to find and opening to take her down without much damage. Despite his aims and plans, he needed her alive. Just like he needed her mother. He had to draw her in closer and strike. 

But she was stubborn and stayed just out of reach, keeping herself and her mother tantalisingly out of his grasp.

He was a close quarter fighter and Pan was more speed and force, like her mother. He also, despite his drives and plans, couldn’t force himself to raise his lightsaber against the child he had broken all taboos to create. A child that in the end, had been created to counteract the Jedi prophecy that Anakin Skywalker would balance the Force and the Jedi would continue to thrive. She was his foil and created to prevent the light from thriving and to give the Sith an opening to return to their former glory.

A prophecy proven false when Anakin took the girl as his padawan, creating no chance for them to be rivals. This in turn, crushed the plans that Darth Sidious had so carefully prepared when he had tried to insinuate himself into Anakin Skywalker’s life in order to make him susceptible to corruption.They needed such a strong Force user to bring the forth the return of the Sith and end the age of the Jedi. 

He had tried. Tried and failed spectacularly, since Shmi Skywalker and Master Luminara had found his interest in the boy curious and had done their best to prevent any closeness between the two. They had also tipped Obi Wan and Qui Gon, who despite their independent contractor work for Bail Organa and Padme Amidala, could also run interference and keep Anakin from his influence and schemes.

Tyranus had kept his peace as he had watched his teacher’s plans be stymied over and over again and had focused on working with the separatists and trying to find his daughter. He knew she was out there, but had no real trace of her. Not even a name. Yet he knew as he stood there, that this dark haired young woman with Qui Gon’s face was her. 

And despite his fall into darkness and knowing that despite his work his plans were for nothing once he had set eyes on Anakin Skywalker and his apprentice, he couldn’t bring himself to destroy her. 

She was his heir. His dynasty would continue with her. 

Anakin Skywalker flew in at him, engaging him away from the girl and her mother. Tyranus fought back without his usual finesse, which had required two hands. Even a mechanical hand had been unable to give him the advantage he was used to. 

He found himself being pushed back and fighting harder when the girl joined in, forcing him to fight two opponents. He wasn’t a young man and the fire in him had been burned out as the truths came crashing down. He was done. 

He knew that the moment that the girl stabbed him, giving Anakin the opening to take his head off his shoulders.

_ Four _

Pan was exhausted when she entered her quarters. The war was rough going and even with Ben and Jynne doing runs and unravelling the threads of the powers behind the attacks, the order was deeply mired into a war that felt like it would last forever. 

Anakin at least had Ahsoka to train, but she hadn’t found an apprentice yet. Pan didn’t feel like she could take an apprentice when she was not just fighting an external war, but also an internal one. 

Not only was she struggling with her feelings towards her old teacher, she was also struggling with questions about her identity and who she was. She was all too aware that these phases should have passed by now, yet she was still trying to release her attachment to Anakin Skywalker and focus on being Pantxike Dorchas, Jedi knight and general in the Clone Wars.

She had, like other initiates and padawans, wondered about her parents. Anakin didn’t have that problem, since Shmi was still at the temple. She knew that it was just a phase that most of them went through and discarded once they became apprentices and knights and found themselves. 

Yet having done that, Pan still was tormented by the mystery of who her parents were. She didn’t even know for sure what planet she was from. The records were purposely vague on that. Yet she got the feeling that it was for a shameful reason that she was being kept in the dark about her parents. 

Particularly since she was convinced that Ben and Jynne Kenobi were her parents and there had been rumours about them for years. Namely that they had broken the code and had a child and left in disgrace. It wasn’t a common occurrence and Pan could read between the lines. 

After all, it would explain why Anakin and Shmi always welcomed them with open arms and why she had always received small gifts from them whenever they had business in Coruscant. The other children hadn’t had that extra attention and she was all too aware of that. 

There was also the fact that once her hair had grown out and she had her final growth spurt, she had started to get second looks from the Masters, particularly Master Yoda and Master Gallia.

They looked at her as if they saw a ghost and Pan knew the moment she saw Jynne Kenobi again after Tyranus’ death what they saw. 

They saw her mother, Jynne Kenobi.

It had been tormenting her, that knowledge once she had realised it and she had desperately wanted to confront the Kenobis in regards to it. 

She had thought it impossible and had pushed it aside with the war speeding up and hadn’t really thought it over. 

“Hello, Pantxike Dorcha.”

Pan’s head snapped up at the voice and she found herself looking up at Jynne Kenobi and Ben Kenobi.

“This is a surprise, Jynne, Ben. What brings you here? I thought you were on Corellian and not in the outer rim. DId something happen to Anakin?”

Pan asked, trying to find footing after feeling as if the rug had been pulled out from under her feet. Jynne smiled sadly. 

“Anakin and Ahsoka are fine. They are on their way.”

Ben replied smoothly, giving Jynne a look that Pan recognised all too well from being Anakin’s apprentice. 

Jynne cleared her throat and looked at Pan, who again got that strange feeling of looking at herself in the future. The familiarity was back and she could sense a bit of sadness and nervousness coming from the usually unflappable Jynne Kenobi. 

Pan felt her heartbeat quicken as she waited for Jynne to speak. Maybe, after all those years, she’d finally get the truth about her parentage and who she really was. And maybe then, that incomplete puzzle would finally be complete.

“We aren’t here about the latest mission. But we are here as a request from Anakin. He told us you had concerns about the rumors in regards to us and your possible parentage.”

Ben explained, his eyes going dark as he spoke. Jynne sighed and looked at Pan. 

“I left the order because I had a child. That child was you, Pantxike Dorcha Jinn.”

Pan’s eyes widened at that. “You’re my mother? Jynne Kenobi?”

Jynne nodded. “Qui Gon Jinn, actually. The Kenobi part came after we left the order and got married. I didn’t want you to have to bear the burden of your parents. It was much too heavy for a child to bear and by looking at you now, I know that it was the right choice.”

Pan’s eyes widened at the information.

“Your father was Yan Dooku. Darth Tyranus.”

Pan felt her face drain of blood. 

“It’s not Ben?”

“I wish it were. It would have made things easier for your and your mother.”

Ben explained quietly in an effort to soften the blow. 

“Was it something you both wanted?”

Qui Gon’s face crumpled in pain at the question, making Pan feel cold horror at what her mother wasn’t saying. She breathed deeply and released that emotion as quickly as she could. Pan swallowed. She understood what Jy-Qui Gon was saying without really saying it. 

She also now realised why Anakin was far too careful with her and why he always made sure to put distance between them and close the bond whenever things were leaving the usual confines of the master and apprentice bond. Even when she had come of age, he had been careful to keep that distance between them. At first, she was sure it was due to the code. 

Now she understood there was more than just the Code he had in mind while doing so.

“Did you love me despite everything?”

Qui Gon nodded. 

“I didn’t want you at first, but once you were born, I loved you without reservations. It was that love that helped me make the decision to give you up. I never wanted you to lack empathy and love and care and I didn’t think I could give you all of that at the time. Not when I would be forced to live with the knowledge of how you came about.”

She paused and ran her hands through her silver and brown hair.

“You were innocent. I didn’t want to hurt you or make you bitter or even resent you. So I entrusted you with people I knew would be able to keep you safe and loved.”

She looked at Pan, who was looking back at her blankly as she fought to understand everything Qui Gon had just shared with her.

“I…I...I thank you for the knowledge. But I need time to meditate on this. I’m sorry.”

Ben and Jynne exchanged an undecipherable look before they both made for the exit. Qui Gon looked like she wanted to say something else, but refrained from doing so, something that Pan appreciated. 

She was glad that the older woman was willing to give her the space she needed to figure out the complicated relationship and background of who she was. She was glad that Qui Gon was giving her the space and time she needed to figure out what she wanted to do next in their newly re-defined relationship. 

A deeply complicated relationship, since she was the heir of a traitor and the daughter of one the strongest Living Force users that the Jedi Order had produced. It did explain why Anakin had forced her to learn Ataru as well as Soretsu. Or to focus her abilities on the Living Force, rather than the Unifying Force. So many little things made perfect sense now. 

But she still needed the time to put the pieces together of who she thought she was and who she was now before she could spend time with Qui Gon Jinn as her mother, rather than a close friend of her Master and his mother.

Qui Gon looked at her before she and Ben made their way out to their own quarters.

They left quietly, leaving Pan to collapse on her camp bed and try to unravel the snarls of emotion Qui Gon Jinn’s revelations had left in her. 

She knew that it would be a long night while she did just that.

_ Five _

“Would you have ever told me about my parents? Or would you have kept it quiet for the rest of our lives?”

Pan asked Anakin the moment that she could grab some time alone with him. He looked at her sharply, his face scrunching up into that petulant sulk she knew all too well. Maybe she should have waited until he was less sleep deprived and not fresh out of a Bacta tank, but after two weeks with the knowledge rubbing her raw, she had to know. 

“Would it have made a difference either way if I had kept it quiet? Has it changed who you are? The relationship that Qui Gon has built with you?”

She chewed on her bottom lip as she weighed his words. He was looking at her sharply as he took off his outer robe and ran his hands through his messy curls. It would have usually distracted her, that action. It would have if she hadn’t been taking his admonition to think seriously. He wasn’t a conventional Master, but he had always expected results to his queries.

“No.” 

He raised an eyebrow and hung up his robe, his movements stiff. He and his battalion had been ambushed and even though they had won the skirmish, it hadn’t been without casualties and injuries. Assaj Ventress had proven herself a tough opponent to beat and subdue and even Quinlan had his hands full with her. 

“I still would have liked to know.”

He shook his head and got close to her, putting his hands on her shoulders as he used to do when she was struggling with a concept as an apprentice. 

“It wasn’t my story to tell and let’s be honest: I am not the most tactful being in the galaxy. It wasn’t an easy time for any of us. I had been close to leaving the Order myself after you were born.”

He admitted to her, his voice growing soft as he recalled those weeks of deliberation and discussions. 

To Pan, it was yet more news to rock the foundation of her world. 

“What made you stay?”

The bridge of his nose and his cheekbones turned red and Pan could see his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down in his throat as he grasped for the words to explain the reasons why he hadn’t packed up and followed Qui Gon and Obi Wan. 

He hadn’t even explained to his mother or to them why he had stayed in the temple and continued with his training. It was partly the first time that he had ever had a vision from the Force and partly because he had been nudged by it to stay and-

“Generals! We need you out in Geonosis! Darth Sidious has been spotted with his troops! It’s the last offence!”

They looked at each other and Anakin kissed her forehead. 

“Stay alive.”

Pan blinked as she ran after him, taking a split second to realise what had just happened. 

“You too, Anakin.”

_ +1 _

Pan dropped to her knees on the bloody battlefield, her lightsaber falling out of her numb hand. She had been fighting for so long beside Qui Gon, Anakin, and Obi Wan that she had lost track of how many soldiers had died at her hand. 

She was sticky and covered in all sorts of bodily fluids, but the war was done. 

She was cold and realised that she was probably going into shock now that the adrenaline was spent. She had pushed herself to her limits to carve a path for Anakin and Ahsoka to make it to Darth Sidious, as had her mother. Obi Wan had covered Qui Gon’s injured left side as well as he could, but all of them had been running on empty by the time Anakin had finally managed to get ahead and find the Sith lord.

“Pantxike. Pantxike! Are you alright?”

She focused her blurry gaze with effort and found herself looking at the blood and mud splattered face of her mother. Qui Gon’s nose had been broken again and blood was caked around her nose and mouth. Her mouth was tight with pain and Pan was touched that she’d come to check on her. 

_ “You’re my daughter. Why wouldn’t I check on you?” _

“Not used to this. Not after Anakin.”

Pan found herself mumbling, too drained to use the Force properly. Qui Gon smiled, despite it making her look ghastly. Pan smiled back and Qui Gon reached out to brush away some of the dried blood from her forehead.

“He always did his best to keep an eye on you. Even as an apprentice, he did his best to look out for you when you were just a youngling in the creche.”

Pan found herself smiling and blushing slightly at the news. It wasn’t anything that Anakin had mentioned and it made her pleased to know that despite his on and off relationship with Senator Amidala, he still would think of her.

“Pan! Jynne!”

It was Obi Wan limping towards them, his face a mask of triumph despite him stumbling towards them. 

“It’s over. It’s finally frakking over.”

Qui Gon stood up and embraced her husband before reaching out a hand to pull Pan to her feet. Pan grabbed her lightsaber and stood up next to part of her family. 

Only two others were missing-

“Snips! Where’s Anakin?”

Ahsoka’s face was pale peach, unlike its usual orange as she rushed towards them.

“He’s not dead, is he?”

Pan found herself asking, her anxiety over Anakin giving her another rush of energy she didn’t even guess she possessed. 

“What? No. But you all need to come with me. He needs to get to the Temple and get there fast.”

~*~*~*~*~

_ “Anakin, it’s time. Wake up.” _

He opened his eyes and looked around the room, taking in the sterile walls and the smell of Bacta and antiseptic. He wondered what battle had landed him in the halls of healing again when he caught a glimpse of Pan half lying on his bed, her dark brown hair spilling over the coverlet and her hand clutching his left hand. 

He raised himself slightly, wincing at the tightness of his muscles and looked at his right side.

Oh right. Darth Sidious had cut his lower arm off before electrocuting him with Sith lightning. 

He let himself fall back on his pillows and swallowed hard as he tried to forget that moment where he thought he was going to die for certain. He had only just managed to withstand the lighting and the shock of losing his lower arm and get himself out of the line of fire long enough for Snips to distract Sidious and throw one of her sabers at him.

He was kneeling and Darth Sidious was attempting another strike when Snips had shot at him, enraging him and giving Anakin that last second opening that he needed to get himself into an attack position.

Darth Sidious was enraged and used the Force to throw the blaster against the wall. He was going to do the same with her when Anakin struck.

He sliced off Darth Sidious legs with one sweeping arc, the saber blurring at the quickness of the movement. He hadn’t even thought about how he had tapped into the Force to give him that one last push. Only that he had found the strength to get Sidious on the ground, screaming in rage and pain, the sound inhuman that was abruptly cut off when Anakin decapitated him, the head rolling off into the far corner of the throne room. 

It was all done. 

And Anakin felt as if he was coated in a miasma of evil that wanted desperately to-

“Anakin?”

He pulled himself away from that unpleasant memory and grinned down tiredly at Pan, who was blinking sleepily at him for a moment before he found himself engulfed in the tightest embrace he had ever received from her. His heart lightened at the touch and at the relief that was enveloping him as she held onto him. 

He had missed this. It wasn’t the same with Padme, as much as he had wanted it to be. Pan was home. Padme was romance and illicit thrills and he loved her deeply...Pan felt like home. Just like his mother, Qui Gon and Obi Wan did. 

“I’m here. I’m home.”

He murmured, stroking her hair gently. 

He was home.

And he wasn’t going to let her go.

END.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Pantxike Dorcha Jinn-Pantxike is a Basque name that means "Free" and Dorcha is Gaelic for "Hope", according to Google. Qui Gon Jinn and Dooku by this time are notorious, so she didn't want her daughter to live in her parents shadow. That is also why she gives her the option of becoming Jinn later on once she has made her own way, so to speak.  
> Jynne and Ben-They're shadow operatives, so this was the best pseudonyms I could play with in regards to Qui Gon. Ben is canon, so there we go.  
> Anakin-This version is actually fairly sane and well adjusted and not just given a glowstick and sent forth with a grieving young man to do shit. He also is a bit more rational and overall closer to farmer Hayden Christensen than Vader. He also does realise as much as he admires Padme, he doesn't fixate like he did in canon, since he clings to her as someone who has major abandonment issues would.  
> Anakin/Pan-He knows about her past and knows that she's crushing hard on him. As much as he likes her, he doesn't want to take advantage of her. He is her Master, but won't act upon the attraction until they're both adults. He's about ten years older than her and Pan herself is in her mid 20's by the time the war ends.  
> Clone Wars-They end up starting earlier and follow closely in canon, but since Sidious is stopped, Order 66 doesn't happen and no slaughter occurs. The Republic follows the same pattern as Rome, would be my guess.


End file.
